Building a common political heritage between the two main communities in Cyprus: the troubled years of the 1950s

Abstract

The aim of this analysis is to explore the ways in which the Cypriot Left confronted the hegemonic nationalist framework within which it was forced to function both in its emergence as a bi-communal movement and in its continuation as communal movements after the 1950s. The following analysis will focus on how the Left as a political force managed to deal with hostile environments as expressed in aggressive hegemonic discourses or actions (political violence). Two examples will be explored: the participa- tion of the Left in the collection of signatures for “union with Greece” within the Greek Cypriot (G/C) community and the emergence of a Turkish Cypriot (T/C) Left at a time when Turkish Cypriot nationalist hegemony took firm root.